


In which a plan goes wrong and chaos ensues

by wiznearbi



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Arthur secretly likes Merlin and vice versa, Arwen never happened, Enchanted!Arthur, M/M, Merlin is confused, Merthur - Freeform, OOC if you squint, Set sometime after Season 5 ep 3, So like these nobles are visiting and the lord's daughter rlly likes Arthur, So they used magic and yeahh, The potion just helps him declare that, and her dad kinda wants them together too???, enchanted Arthur, i really wanted to make Morgana nice but auuytdfsbesngfdthrjh, it feels really weird calling it Arwen bc i really like lotr as well and i just, love potion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-15
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2018-12-02 10:32:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 3,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11507586
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wiznearbi/pseuds/wiznearbi
Summary: Merlin should have seen it coming.Stupid prattle about the 'ethereal beauty' of Lady Marden? That, he'd expected.  Being followed around and courted by a sickeningly love-struck King? That, he hadn't.Really, he should have seen it coming.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I apologise if the writing isn't that good but otherwise, enjoy!

The Pendragons were the most insufferable family in the whole of Albion.

In Merlin's eyes, at least.

He was surprised to say that after meeting Lady Marden, he was wrong.

The woman was the most condescending person he'd ever met. Or was that Arthur? It was Arthur.

Alright, the _second_ most condescending person he'd ever met. A very close second.

She was conceited, acting as if the world revolved around her and for her. She flirted shamelessly (even more so than _Gwaine_ ), with no sense of personal space or respect for others' feelings. She mistreated the servants, almost yelling at Gwen for not filling her goblet fast enough before Elyan had intervened, sending the stuck-up bitch a murderous look. And those weren't even the worst things. Oh no. She seemed to think she had every man wrapped around her finger, especially Arthur. Merlin didn't know why her having the hots for Arthur bothered him so much, but the angry feeling that caused him to curl his hand into a tight fist when she leant a little too close to Arthur wasn't to be ignored. He decided he would keep an eye on her, and if she so much as _touched_ Arthur- 

His eyes widened as Marden waited 'till Arthur had turned away to speak to one of his knights before slipping a rose-pink substance from a tiny glass phial into his wine. He panicked as she tapped Arthur's shoulder, handing him his goblet and grinning flirtatiously. Her lips moved but Merlin wasn't close enough to decipher what she was saying. He considered running up to Arthur and snatching the tampered wine from him but it was too late, the goblet had reached Arthur's lips and he'd taken a sip. Merlin shuffled closer to see if anything was off with his King but to his profound surprise, a considerable amount of time passed and Arthur seemed the same as ever. He sighed in relief, the anxiety leaving him at once. Whatever had been in that glass phial, it hadn't worked.

"You, boy!" Lord Manning barked, waving Merlin over.

"Yes, milord?" Merlin inquired it the most polite tone he could muster, keeping his frustration to himself as always. The visiting nobleman gestured to Marden.

"My daughter's goblet has been empty for a while now. Are you blind, boy?" Merlin winced at his harsh tone.

"No, milord...I mean, yes, milord," Merlin stuttered, "I mean, I shall fill it right away, milord!" After doing this he retreated back to stand beside Gwen, trying to ignore the livid glare sent his way by the ginger lord.

"Slimy bastard." he whispered, quiet enough so that only Gwen could hear. He grinned as she covered her mouth with her free hand as to stifle her giggles.

"Only you, Merlin." She smiled, shaking her head fondly.

Merlin listened, unconcerned, as the Lord complained to Arthur about the 'incompetence' of his servants. The King only looked bored, sending his manservant an arched eyebrow as Manning waved his hands animatedly, spit spraying as he talked (much to the others' discomfort). Merlin only flashed him a cheeky grin and a wink in reply, which was received with an eye-roll and familiar lop-sided smile. _'A smile that could automatically make anyone's day ten times better'_ , Merlin thought, smiling softly when the blond Kind turned away.

Not that he would admit it out loud, of course.

 

 


	2. Chapter 1

"Rise 'n Shine!" 

The morning sunlight burst into the room through the window Merlin had just opened. He grinned at Arthur as he sat up groggily, still draped in his covers. 

"Well hello,  _Mer_ lin," he drawled, "It is a rather shiny morning today, isn't it?" In an attempt to roll out of the bed, Arthur began to fall. Merlin caught him just in time and heaved him back onto the bed with a look of exasperation. 

"Are you hungover?" he asked incredulously, shoving a bread roll in the blond's face. 

Arthur lifted the bread roll and took a bite. 

"I don't know, are  _you_  hungover?" He smoothed off his hair with one hand, blinking as to adjust to the sudden brightness. 

Merlin snorted, walking over to the desk. 

"You're hungover. Splendid." 

"I am not," Arthur protested, "I feel fine! In fact..." he swept his eyes over Merlin's figure, "I feel  _great_." He got off his bed, his blue iris' fixated on his manservant, and slowly walked over to stand in front of him, mouth open wide like that of a fish. 

" _My god_ , Merlin...Have I ever told you how  _blue_  your eyes were?" he let out a choked sob, squeezing Merlin's cheeks. The raven-haired warlock looked petrified at his King's weird behaviour, dropping the parchment he'd been holding.

"Arthur-" he began but stopped in alarm as he felt two strong arms wrap around his torso, and a golden head bury itself in his neck. He froze. In all their years of friendship, he couldn't remember being hugged by Arthur once. This was an entirely new feeling and as much as he liked it, it confirmed that there was something terribly wrong with his master today. Something he needed to fix.

A memory made his way into his head.  _The glass phial, the pink liquid. Lady Marden. Arthur's funny mood._ Merlin gulped. 

A love potion. How wonderful. 

He couldn't be sure, however. He'd have to ask Gaius. He remembered hearing him tell him about different types of love potions for different purposes. Which one was this? 

He eased Arthur off him. The blonde looked at him quizzically. 

"Do you not like my hugs, Merlin?"

_This wasn't Arthur._

"I-I have to go," Merlin stuttered, thinking of an excuse "Gaius, he needs me!" With that, he raced out the door and down the corridor, bumping into more than one servant on the way. 

"Merlin? MERLIN!" he could hear Arthur calling after him.

* * *

Panting like a dog, Merlin swung open the door to Gaius' chambers, startling the old man.

"Merlin! You frightened me," his ward closed the door and laid his head on it to catch his breath before tumbling up into his own room, almost tripping over a stool. The physician raised an accusing eyebrow.

"Merlin-"

_"If Arthur comes looking for me, tell him I'm not here!"_  came Merlin's muffled voice after his door shut with a bang.

Gaius stared after him before shaking his head and turning back to his work.

_'What am I going to do with that boy?'_  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I managed to finish this in like, a day so it probably isn't the best but yeahhh


	3. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so I may change this in the future since I'm not entirely happy with it but who knows?

"You shouldn't hide from him, you know."

Gaius had entered Merlin's tiny room not long ago, wondering what had happened earlier with Arthur. With a little coaxing and assurance that no, he would not laugh at him, the warlock had confessed what he'd suspected about the king's behaviour to his carer, cheeks bright red the entire time. He would not meet Gaius' eyes until he'd finished, choosing to look at his feet instead.

"I can't." 

Gaius huffed in frustration.

"You're his manservant. He's going to ask for you soon, you won't be able to decline. He's the king!"

Despite this, Merlin remained adamant. "He has George! I'll pretend I've got chores to do for  _you_. You could even tell him I'm at the tavern this time, you have my permission."  

"You can't avoid him forever, Merlin."

"And I won't! I'll just stay out of his way long enough so that I can find that phial in Marden's chambers and take it to you so that you can find a cure. Then everything will be back to normal and I'll be at his side, protecting his royal arse like always."

_"Merlin-"_

"Merlin! The King requires you immediately. He says it is urgent."

The two jumped at the new voice behind the door. Merlin shot Gaius a pleading look, but the physician looked him dead in the eye and said;

"He'll be there in a second."

His ward's mouth flew open in and he looked betrayed before stomping off in the direction of the voice. Gaius felt the door slam behind him and he shook his head and sighed. He was too old for this.

* * *

 

"You needed me, sire?" Merlin asked reluctantly once he made his way into Arthur's chambers. He could hear shuffling behind the changing screen.

"Yes. I need to get dressed."

Merlin flushed as Arthur came into view, chest bare. He nodded towards the closet while looking at him expectantly. 

"A-Ah...yes!" Merlin stuttered, "Your tunic, of course! Can't have you parading around the castle looking like that, can we?"

"Certainly not." Arthur shook his head vigorously as Merlin picked a red tunic from his closet. He held out his arms as to let him place it over his head and push it down so that it covered his upper body. He grinned cheerfully.

"Thanks, Merlin!"

Merlin didn't reply, pretending the belt he was currently fastening around Arthur's waist was much more interesting than it was. Arthur frowned and laid a hand on Merlin's own. Time seemed to stop for the warlock as his eyes widened and snapped over to their hands. The King's palm was warm against his fingers, and his golden glow contrasted with Merlin's own pale skin. 

"Is this about what happened earlier, Merlin?"

His voice was soft and gentle, so unlike the usual Arthur that Merlin knew.

"Because it's not my fault you're so pretty."

If that hadn't been a compliment, Merlin would have doubted the possibility of an enchantment at all.

He snorted, raising an eyebrow at Arthur. 

"It's not my fault  _you're_  such a prat."

The words left his mouth before he could stop them. He flinched. Arthur grinning in triumph.

"Does that mean you're not mad at me?"

"W-what? Mad? No, of course not. Surprised, that's all."

"Mm..Good." 

"Yeah." 

After a short period of silence, Merlin cleared his throat.

"So...lunch?"

"What?"

"Would you like me to get you lunch?" 

Arthur looked contemplative before waving a hand. 

"No. Guinevere can do that. I want to speak to you."

Merlin gulped, slowly taking a step back.

"Speak to me?"

"Yes. I believe that I've been rather blind."

" _Blind?_ " he squeaked.

"All this time I've kept it hidden in the depths of my very heart, not wanting to believe..." he shook his head, "I've been in denial, but now," he grasped Merlin's wrists much the horror of the younger man, a sickeningly besotted expression on his face.

"I'm in love, Merlin, with  _you_!" he let go and threw out his arms, prancing around the room with a wide grin. 

"I love you! I love you! I-"

" _Stop!_ " 

Arthur turned his head, arms still spread out.

"Arthur, I-" Merlin was at a loss for words, "I-We  _can't_." 

Arthur's face fell and he slowly lowered his arms.

"Why?"

"Because, _Arthur_ , you're the-the  _king_  and I'm just," he gestured to himself, "I'm just a servant. To make it worse, I'm a  _man_ servant. Relationships like these..." he trailed off as his voice broke, "This can't work. I'm sorry." 

He left the room, leaving behind a bewildered and heartbroken Arthur behind him. 

 


	4. Chapter 3

"A-Arthur?"

"Merlin." came the gruff reply. The raven wrung his hands, staring guiltily at the forlorn heap of blankets at the edge of the large bed. He had to admit, he'd been rather harsh before. Facts or not, he shouldn't have said that to him.

"I wanted to say sorry about how...what I said...It wasn't nice. Not to you. I was shocked a-and I shouldn't have brought all that down upon you like that." 

Arthur slowly turned his head to meet his eyes. Merlin almost laughed, he looked like a sad puppy. He seemed thoughtful for a moment before replying.

"All right, I forgive you." Another period of silence passed between the two. "C-could I ask you a question?"

Merlin blinked in surprise. "Okay."

"What is your relationship with Lancelot and Gwaine?"

At this, the raven almost choked. "Arthur...I...I assure you, We are nothing but friends. Always have been..."

"Good." 

"Because I'm in love with another."

Arthur's head shot up at this and his mouth flew open. Merlin gave a weak smile and chuckled.

"Careful. Wouldn't want to catch flies."

It shut with a snap. Arthur scrambled out of his bed, pushing the red sheets off of him.

"That's...good. Do they know?"

"I'm not sure." Oh, the irony.

"All right."

"Maybe they never will."

Arthur gulped. "Perhaps you should tell them."

"Perhaps." Merlin coughed, "There's something I should tell you."

"What?" Was it just him, or did Arthur look  _hopeful?_

"I - _Gaius and I -_ suspect that you're under the influence of a love potion."

Arthur frowned. "And why should I be?"

"Your behaviour," Merlin blushed, "Your sudden _feelings_ for me. I mean no offence when I say this, Arthur, but it's a little _odd_. Unlike you."

Arthur looked affronted. "It is not odd, Merlin! I love you!"

"Ah!" Merlin poked a finger in his direction, " _That_  is what I mean! Those three words would never come out of Arthur Pendragon that easily!" He added under his breath; "Not to me, anyway."

He continued. "The feast, remember that? Manning and Marden's welcome feast?" Slowly, Arthur nodded, "Well, before Marden handed you that goblet of wine I saw her pour something into it. Something pink, and glowing just a little. I didn't think much of it because you seemed fine later, if not a little drunk, but not today. Maybe it takes a while to kick in, who knows? Anyway, I talked to Gaius, and he believes it's a love potion." He shook his head, "I just don't understand why it makes you feel attracted to me."

Arthur looked as if he wanted to say something, but thought better of it.

"Maybe you're right." he admitted.

* * *

Lady Marden was furious. 

The dumb, half-wit King of Camelot had downright ignored her this whole time. That wasn't the plan, it wasn't supposed to happen that way. He should've fallen in love with her. She was so sure she'd seduced him during that feast.  _So sure_. It seems that wasn't enough. There was someone else, but who?

She gripped the fabric of her skirts and glared at the King, scowling. The cursed man was gazing at something. She felt intrigued. She followed his gaze and her eyes widened as she found what - or rather,  _who_  - was drawing the loving gaze of Arthur Pendragon. The ends of her lips curled into a smirk.

Perhaps her plan hadn't gone as terribly as she'd thought.

 

 


	5. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This isn't as good as I would've liked but

Merlin immediately regretted giving Arthur permission to court him. He felt immensely guilty too, and torn. He groaned as he watched the morning light that had flooded into his tiny bedchamber through the window. He debated on whether or not he should speak to Kilgharrah. He ended up deciding against it.

The damned old lizard will just laugh, he thought, angrily, He won't be of any help.

However, as the days grew longer and more unbearable, with sickeningly sweet love poems that made his cheeks flush for some stupid reason and bouquets of flowers showing up in the queerest of places, he finally gave in. 

In the dead of night, when he was absolutely sure that nobody was awake, he crept out into the usual clearing in which he and the dragon had their meetings and called for him. There was a great beating of wings as Kilgharrah reached the ground, looking at him expectantly with this wise gold eyes.

"Make fun of me," Merlin warned, "And I'll order you to impersonate a hummingbird for a week."

The dragon looked taken aback. "What happened, now, young warlock?"

Merlin gulped. Was this really a good idea? Damn it, he thought, "Arthur may have come into contact with a love potion...again. But this one's different, it's more..." he struggled to find the word, "...difficult."

Kilgharrah raised an eyebrow. (Do dragons have eyebrows?) "How so?"

"This time...he's in love with me." There, he said it. 

Kilgharrah stood there, dumbfounded, for a couple of seconds before he burst into laughter.

"What did I tell you?" Merlin scolded, his face going red. Kilgharrah shook his head, his booming laughter now reduced to a mere chuckle. 

"I am sorry, really," he apologised, as sincerely as possible, "I'll help you with this."

The raven-haired warlock let out a sigh of relief. "Gaius said he hasn't found a cure because he doesn't know exactly what type of love potion it was. I've thought about searching Marden's chambers, but it's too risky with Arthur's attention fully directed at me. I was frightened he'd follow me here or something." He let out a weak chuckle, "The biggest problem is...I like him too."

The dragon didn't even look surprised.

"Well, well, I wasn't expecting you to admit it so soon."

"You knew? How?" Merlin spluttered.

"You are more obvious than you realise, young warlock!" Kilgharrah smiled innocently. Merlin ran his slim fingers through his hair.

"Who else knows?"


	6. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is no-one surprised?

As it turned out, Many people did.

When it came to the 'Merthur' (as Gwaine had so kindly called it) courtship, next to no one was surprised. Indeed, the only one surprised was George, if you could call his reaction surprise.

"Oh, dear!" he'd gasped, "To think, if you get married I might actually manage to get your job!"

Merlin had grumbled at this and made a face at his fellow servant's stiff back as he sauntered away. 

Gwen and multiple knights had congratulated him and said something along the lines of "Finally, you two!", and the rest of the population had displayed a similar reaction. Merlin was...extremely irritable. 

He wouldn't be the least bit surprised if they'd bet on it, bloody arses. (Except for Gwen. Gwen was sweet and kind and Merlin would rather reveal his magic to Uther than insult her) 

He rubbed the brush against the sleeve of Arthur's shirt as he washed it, letting out all his frustration on the poor fabric. He didn't hear Arthur come up behind him.

"Careful, you'll tear a hole in there."

Merlin almost jumped out of his skin. "Prat." he mumbled out of habit. He turned around, fully expecting to see Arthur grinning like an idiot and holding a bunch of random flowers he'd picked out from the edge of the forest accompanied with a cake or something. 

He was not expecting Arthur to look like...Arthur.

His arms were crossed, and he had an unreadable expression on his face. He was staring at Merlin intensely.

"Merlin." he said.

"Arthur." Merlin replied, a little confused. Arthur nodded towards the bucket of laundry.

"That can wait. Come with me."

"But-"

"We need to talk." 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry I haven't updated this in months. I ran completely out of ideas and I really should've thought out this fic before posting, huh?


	7. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone's recovered.

Arthur led Merlin into his room, his back to him the whole time.

"Close the door." he ordered. Merlin shut it, still a little uncertain.

Arthur finally turned around to look directly at Merlin, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"These past few...weeks," he said, finally letting the tiniest bit of emotion into his tone, "I've been under a spell, haven't I."

Merlin winced. "Yes."

"You knew?"

"...Yes."

"You didn't tell me?"

"No."

"You let people think we were..." Arthur struggled to say the word, but Merlin understood.

"Look, Arthur, I'm sorry. I wanted to tell you, but I knew you wouldn't listen in that state."

"Still!," Arthur snapped, then sighed, "Did you even have a cure?"

"Gaius and I, we were working on one, but we had to find what kind of love potion it was first. I see you've...recovered, though?" Merlin hated the part of him that dared to feel disappointment. 

"It seems it was only temporary." Arthur mumbled, running a hand through his hair, "Have you any idea of who the culprit is?"

"I do." Merlin replied, a little quickly, "It was Lady Marden, I'm sure of it...sire."

For a moment, Arthur's pacing was the only thing that could be heard.

"Why did you let me court you?"

"I...I knew you weren't going to be quiet about it otherwise." Merlin stammered, looking down at his feet.

"Whatever. DId I...say anything?"

Damn. "N...no, why do you ask?"

"No reason." All went quiet again, "You can go now."

Merling exited the room, but not before shooting one last worried glance in Arthur's direction. The young man was standing at his window, staring down at the courtyard below. It was impossible to know what he was thinking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters today. I think I might end this fic soon.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos will be appreciated! Feel free to bookmark and/or subscribe if you feel like it :).


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